Syria condemns Israeli strike near Damascus as violation of international law

Key facts

• Syria condemned an Israeli strike on the village of Beit Jinn, southwest of Damascus.
• Syrian officials stated the strike hit a civilian vehicle and injured several people.
• Syria described the attack as a violation of its sovereignty and international law.
• Israel claimed it targeted a "terrorist" preparing an imminent attack.
• This incident follows a previous Israeli strike on a Syrian airbase, which drew a rebuke from Washington.

Syria has condemned an Israeli attack on the village of Beit Jinn, southwest of the country's capital Damascus, stating that officials said the strike hit a civilian vehicle and injured several people. This incident marks the second known Israeli strike on Syria in the past week, with Syria labeling it a "violation" of its sovereignty and international law.

The Israeli military stated on X that it had targeted a "terrorist" in the "final stages" of preparing attacks that posed an immediate threat to soldiers. This latest incident follows reports of Israel striking a military airbase near the Turkish border days earlier, an action Syria warned could escalate regional tensions.

Following the earlier strike on the Abu al-Duhur airbase, Washington issued a rare rebuke of Israel, describing it as an "unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability." In response, the US ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, suggested the strike might have been an attempt by Israel to "bait the Turks" into conflict before upcoming Israeli elections. Israel's far-right defense minister, Israel Katz, countered Barrack's account, calling it "full of inaccuracies" and stating Israeli forces acted based on "clear intelligence information about Turkey's intentions."

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement after the earlier strike, asserting that Israel and Syria had an agreement on security matters, which Syria was allegedly breaching by allowing Turkish troops to deploy at an airbase near Aleppo. Turkey did not confirm any troop movements to the Abu al-Duhur airbase, which has been out of service as a dedicated military airfield since 2013 and was captured by rebel forces in December 2024. However, Ankara rejected Israel's suggestion that it posed a threat.

Israel occupies territory in southwest Syria seized after the fall of Bashar al-Assad in 2024. Syria has been working to rebuild its military facilities damaged during the offensive. The Turkish military has provided assistance to Syria since Assad's overthrow, while Israel maintains a suspicious view of both nations. Al-Sharaa has reportedly forged closer ties with the West, particularly the US, and became the first Syrian leader to visit the White House in November 2025.